thank you so much!
i already did re-DL from the vendor and upload a fresh copy this aft, but i’m not sure i installed it at the best time in this sequence.
i don’t believe i used a child theme–not only has the site has been static and sitting around for at least a year, untouched, but i’m very novice at wordpress.
i did install and ran sucuri earlier today, but i didn’t get through the whole hardening section of its settings.
glad to not hear that all’s lost. i’ll get back at it in the morn and post back. thank you again!